Inflatable dunnage bags are used to stabilize and limit movement of cargo during transportation of cargo containers (such as railroad cars and semi-trailers), which improves safety and reduces the likelihood of damage to the cargo in such cargo containers. Generally, after some or all of the cargo is loaded into a cargo container, one or more uninflated or partially inflated dunnage bags are positioned in any voids or spaces between the cargo and/or between the cargo and the walls of the cargo container. The dunnage bags are then inflated to a desired bag pressure using a compressed air source. In most known implementations in the load securement industry, a pneumatic compressor is employed as the compressed air source. This pneumatic compressor is typically a large-scale, stationary pneumatic compressor centrally located in the warehouse or factory from which the cargo is being transported.
Typically, an operator inflates a dunnage bag by: (1) transporting a compressor hose to the dunnage bag; (2) operatively connecting an inflation head of the compressor hose to the dunnage bag; (3) depressing a trigger of the compressor hose, which enables air to flow from the compressor hose into the dunnage bag to inflate the dunnage bag; and (4) releasing the trigger when the dunnage bag reaches a desired bag pressure. The inflation process typically takes one to three minutes per dunnage bag. The operator then removes the inflation head from the dunnage bag and repeats the process for any remaining dunnage bags.
This typical dunnage bag inflation process is problematic for multiple reasons. Requiring the operator to manually depress the trigger of the compressor hose for substantially the entire one to three minute inflation process results in a loss of productivity while the operator merely stands near the dunnage bag and depresses a trigger. Additionally, requiring the operator to manually depress the trigger of the compressor hose while standing near the dunnage bag is potentially dangerous for the operator, as inflation of the dunnage bag may cause cargo to shift and fall onto the operator. Further, the operator must constantly monitor the pressure inside the dunnage bag such that the operator does not overfill the dunnage bag, which could rupture the dunnage bag, render the dunnage bag more susceptible to rupturing during transit, or damage the cargo.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new and improved pneumatic inflator that solves these problems.